CH 441

“What's wrong with that dude?”

“Who? Oh. I'm not sure myself. He's totally out of it lately.”

“Wow. That's a surprise,” said Yi Myeong-Hwan, feeling somewhat baffled by the sight of Cheon Tae-Hun in the distance.

'That is so weird...'

The 'Cheon Tae-Hun' Yi Myeong-Hwan knew was a cynical man, the type to always speak in a slightly negative and annoying way. However, his skills were the real deal, and his judgment ice-cold, so his slightly-annoying personality came across as 'cool' to other people. That was who Cheon Tae-Hun was.

Thanks to his... peculiar personality, Cheon Tae-Hun cut a rather polarizing figure among the Assembly members, but... At the very least, Yi Myeong-Hwan found Cheon Tae-Hun 'cool.' If some random idiot with zero abilities acted like that, they would swiftly become a laughing stock, but Cheon Tae-Hun's skills were a real deal.

Although Cheon Tae-Hun's sheen had dulled ever so slightly after the appearance of a monster named Kang Jin-Ho, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Cheon Tae-Hun a genius. Wasn't he the hidden ace Bang Jin-Hun had kept secret from everyone until the end?

If the individual representing Lee Jung-Geol's faction was the long-forgotten Lee Seong-Hwi, then Cheon Tae-Hun was undoubtedly the representative of Bang Jin-Hun's faction.

What about Kang Jin-Ho, then? Saying he was a part of Bang Jin-Hun's sphere of influence would be stretching the truth too much, so...

In any case...! Cheon Tae-Hun was someone that important, yet right now... He was sitting by himself, seemingly completely dazed out of his mind.

“I wonder, did something happen to him?” Yi Myeong-Hwan tilted his head.

Obviously, something did happen. Cheon Tae-Hun wasn't the type to sit still like a zombie without a reason, after all!

What baffled Yi Myeong-Hwan was that Cheon Tae-Hun wouldn't be that dazed regardless of whatever happened to him!

“Could it be Cheon Tae-Hun is depressed about Mister Kang Jin-Ho's order to assemble?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan shot back. “Say something that makes sense, will you?!”

“Chill, dude. I'm just saying. Why are you losing your sh*t with me?”

“I'll chill once you stop spewing rubbish, okay?”

“What the hell... I'm not talking crap, though? Think about it. If you were Cheon Tae-Hun, you'd feel disappointed and hollow, too. He's Bang Jin-Hun's heir apparent, so he probably thought his future is rosy and secure and all that, but now, Mister Kang Jin-Ho wants to train other people, too? No wonder he'd feel deflated like a balloon. Besides, there's a real chance of us leapfrogging Cheon Tae-Hun by learning from Mister Kang Jin-Ho, right?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan was about to argue back but chose to stop himself. He slowly shook his head while groaning under his breath.

'We're not here to mess around, you dumbass...'

Of course, Yi Myeong-Hwan was just as excited and brimming with anticipation of Kang Jin-Ho's upcoming training session as everybody else in this auditorium. His anticipation was so great that his heart was pounding like crazy... As if it'd explode at any second now!

How could he not be excited after that day when Kang Jin-Ho destroyed the Yeongnam Group by himself?

On that day, Yi Myeong-Hwan became Kang Jin-Ho's number one follower, and no one could claim otherwise. He was a firm believer of 'strength' being all the proof necessary for a martial artist to prove their worth, so to his eyes, Kang Jin-Ho was like the personification of godly strength that showed up literally out of nowhere.

'Yup, that was f*cking scary...!'

Yi Myeong-Hwan still could vividly recall the sight of the Yeongnam Group martial artists getting swept away by Kang Jin-Ho as if they were fallen leaves of autumn.

Kang Jin-Ho's strength, his cruelty, his viciousness! That was the ideal figure that all martial artists aspired to!

People would usually get jealous and competitive after seeing someone their age achieve so much more than them. However, that story didn't apply when it came to Kang Jin-Ho.

One could only get jealous if there was a possibility of catching up one day. In the face of strength existing on a much higher realm, the only thing anyone would feel was not jealousy but... pure, unadulterated awe. And...

And the thoughts of unraveling the mystery behind Kang Jin-Ho's otherworldly strength—even if by little—from his lessons endlessly excited Yi Myeong-Hwan. Others also thought the same, at least as far as Yi Myeong-Hwan could tell.

“Okay, so... Uhh, what are we supposed to learn today, though?”

Half of the martial artists gathered in the auditorium were clearly excited, but the other half looked worried. It was understandable, since this thing called 'right timing' to receive teachings existed in martial arts.

Martial artists whose cultivation had reached a high-enough realm would limit the age of their potential disciples to below ten years old. That was because older children with their skeletal growth already finished and trained in other schools of martial art techniques wouldn't see much of an improvement.

But the folks assembled inside this auditorium were a bit too old to learn new martial arts techniques even though they still belonged to the Assembly's younger generation. Even If Kang Jin-Ho possessed godly strength, leading them to a higher realm should still be no easy task.

And that was why Yi Myeong-Hwan found the notion of decreasing the gap between him and Cheon Tae-Hun absurd. Laughable, even.

Even if it was Kang Jin-Ho instructing them, such a thing should still be next to impossible! After all, they were all martial artists here. Although their chosen methods, and the resulting efficiency, were different, everyone here still trained to the extreme in the hopes of getting stronger.

Improving a newbie's strength in a relatively short period was easily doable, but pushing an already-trained pro to the next stage was extremely difficult. As one climbed higher and higher, the differences between each level would only grow larger and harder to overcome, after all!

Yi Myeong-Hwan quietly muttered, “Even if it's Mister Kang Jin-Ho...”

“Mm? Did you say something?”

“No. It's nothing,” Yi Myeong-Hwan shook his head.

He didn't feel the need to air his doubts in public. He didn't want to trample on the excitement and anticipation of everyone here, anyway. Besides, Bang Jin-Hun and Kang Jin-Ho most likely already knew about the stuff Yi Myeong-Hwan was worried about, to begin with.

Even if the folks here had no hopes of becoming extremely strong, Kang Jin-Ho teaching them suitable training methods and adjusting their martial paths should prove to be enormously helpful.

Creak...

Just as Yi Myeong-Hwan's thoughts reached that far, the auditorium's door opened, and Bang Jin-Hun walked inside. However, no one stared at their Assembly Master. Their attention was too focused on Kang Jin-Ho walking in behind Bang Jin-Hun for that.

“Hmm…” Bang Jin-Hun smacked his lips ruefully as if he also noticed that. “Mister Jin-Ho, I'm getting the cold-shoulder treatment thanks to you.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. “It must be the issue of popularity, then.”

“Huh-uh? What do you mean by that, Mister Jin-Ho? Don't you know how popular I am in the Assembly? Everyone likes me.”

“I'm sure that's the case.”

“...Sounds like you don't believe me.”

“No, I do.”

Bang Jin-Hun cocked an eyebrow. “But you don't look like you do?”

Kang Jin-Ho faintly smiled.

'I have to believe it, though.'

How could Kang Jin-Ho not believe that popularity claim knowing what this crybaby had managed to achieve so far? Bang Jin-Hun might have worked hard to build his faction over the years, but it still didn't even amount to half of the Assembly. That was his situation, but Kang Jin-Ho's sudden interference helped him absorb Lee Jung-Geol's faction in the proverbial blink of an eye. And a short while later, he even got to devour another faction called the Yeongnam Group, which was supposed to be even more powerful than the Martial Assembly!

Considering Bang Jin-Hun had been recklessly building his faction solely for the purpose of opposing Lee Jung-Geol, his influence realistically shouldn't even reach ten percent in this chaotic organization called the Martial Assembly. In that case...

Even if Bang Jin-Hun was riding on the back of a tiger called Kang Jin-Ho, it was still quite a feat for him to lead the Martial Assembly with such a tiny faction as his backup. And with no discernible problem, too!

'That's something I can't even dream of doing...'

What if Kang Jin-Ho decided to take charge and step into the light? Most likely, the Martial Assembly wouldn't have found its stability. At least not this quickly. Back when he became the demon cult's leader, countless people complained about how they couldn't accept an outsider like Kang Jin-Ho occupying that noble position meant for those who started their martial journey with the demon cult.

Kang Jin-Ho responded by ruthlessly suppressing or outright eliminating every voice that used the pretext of legitimacy to resist and undermine him. Once the demon cult was bathed in blood, all the survivors had no choice but to bow their heads in fear before the name of Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor.

Even though that was a swift and efficient way of dealing with that kind of problem, it had to accompany excessive blood-letting, as well. However, Kang Jin-Ho didn't know of a better way to handle that situation. He simply didn't know how to appease and negotiate with those who refused to follow him, after all!

That was why Kang Jin-Ho acknowledged the man named Bang Jin-Hun. This man's ability to lead was something Kang Jin-Ho couldn't even dream of matching in his lifetime. Besides, didn't Kang Jin-Ho's violent method reveal its fatal limitation near the end of his life?

Bang Jin-Hun had proven himself to be an amazing leader for calmly and stably leading a massive organization made up of diverse individuals without shedding a single drop of blood.

'I got lucky.'

Kang Jin-Ho genuinely thought he got lucky this time. Unlike his past lives when he had to fight all alone, the situation was markedly different this time. He had his family with him in this life. Park Yu-Min was here, too. Jo Gyu-Min entered his life at the perfect time, and Bang Jin-Hun showed up not too long afterward.

Something like this never happened in Kang Jin-Ho's past. If only Kang Jin-Ho had just one more person who didn't prioritize benefits and genuinely wanted to help him... Maybe, his life could've been different.

Although, was Kang Jin-Ho's current situation all down to his luck? Or could it be that Kang Jin-Ho was no longer Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor and worked hard to become someone capable of reaching out to other people? He couldn't tell.

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Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head. “What's the matter, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“No, it's nothing important,” Kang Jin-Ho briefly shook his head to get rid of all the distracting thoughts, then calmly caught his breath. “So... I'm assuming these people are 'it'?”

“Yes. But... Teaching all these people at once is impossible. I'm sure you know this?”

“Of course.”

Judging from the number of people affiliated with the Martial Assembly, not just those assembled here, there should be over ten thousand martial artists in the Korean peninsula alone. Teaching every single one of them was physically impossible.

So, the correct course of action was to assemble those who clearly had the potential and teach them, then let them act as 'assistant instructors' to spread the teachings.

“This is basically our Maginot line, Mister Jin-Ho. Teaching anyone older than these folks will not yield much results,” said Bang Jin-Hun while glancing at the crowd.

“Mm…” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded while thinking about the problems with teaching the older crowd. One was a minor problem, but the other one was much more serious.

The minor problem had to do with teaching different cultivation methods to martial artists approaching forty years of age. Doing that could cause more harm than good in the long run. As for the much-more-serious problem, it was about whether or not those martial artists would even want to learn Kang Jin-Ho's cultivation methods.

The pride of those who had walked a single path for decades was unfathomably strong. Some among them did try their best to reform themselves and find a new direction, but their numbers were few.

Kang Jin-Ho also scanned the crowd before nodding slightly. “It seems we have no choice but to demonstrate tangible results to convince them.”

“That's what I've been thinking about, Mister Jin-Ho. If I could, I wanted to force everyone to learn from you, but my authority still isn't widely accepted for that, you see…” Bang Jin-Hun muttered, a hint of bitterness creeping into his voice.

Kang Jin-Ho patted him on the shoulder. “Assembly Master Bang, I think what you've achieved so far is already incredible.”

“Heh. Thank you for saying that even if you didn't mean it. Truth be told, I... I'm figuratively dying inside from doing this job, you see?” Bang Jin-Hun chuckled good-naturedly.

Kang Jin-Ho also chuckled along with him, his eyes taking in the sight of the crowd before him. For now, what he should do was demonstrate to everyone how much stronger a martial artist would become with Kang Jin-Ho's training. As that was the goal, the martial artists assembled inside this auditorium served a crucial purpose.

Bang Jin-Hun glanced at Kang Jin-Ho. “Then, please go ahead.”

“Alright,” said Kang Jin-Ho, then stepped forward toward the edge of the podium. He stood there in silence, studying the crowd before him.

'Is he the same person?'

Yi Myeong-Hwan looking up suddenly felt this sense of extreme discrepancy wash over him. Kang Jin-Ho's outward appearance didn't look any different. Even his expression was the same as that day.

However, calling this Kang Jin-Ho before everyone's eyes a different man from the monster they saw on that fateful day wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Honestly speaking, this Kang Jin-Ho resembled a university student stepping up to the podium to start a speech. Obviously, his good looks meant Kang Jin-Ho didn't look like an ordinary man, but... Take away his looks, and Kang Jin-Ho could pass off as any other random university student.

'Huh. A university student, eh...?'

Yi Myeong-Hwan snickered at his own thoughts. The memories of that day were still vividly etched into his brain, so what bullsh*t was he on about university this and student that?

That man, that monster, could turn everyone in this auditorium into bloody chunks of meat in the blink of an eye if that's what he fancied. All the while cackling like a hungry man-devouring demon, no less!

While Yi Myeong-Hwan was tightening his nerves before he became too relaxed for his own good, Kang Jin-Ho finished scanning the crowd and got ready to address them.